Tuesday, October 25, 2016

St. Cece's Pub is exiting Corktown in November

When St. Cece's Pub opened its doors some four years ago, it became known for its eclectic weekly Takeover Tuesday pop-ups, affordable drinks, and upscale bar food.

Despite its popularity as a neighborhood bar, the ownership has sold the property and will close its doors in November.

We first reported in January this year that the bar was listed for sale by Corktown firm O'Connor Real Estate for $850,000. According to Eater Detroit, co-owner Celeste Belanger says she will shutter the spot by the middle of next month.

Over the next several weeks, St. Cece's will host its final dining events, including a Nov. 6 brunch service and a pop-up by Dr. Sushi 5 p.m.-9 p.m. today.

Says the doctor, AKA chef Nick George: "Takeover Tuesdays introduced me to a lot of great people in this town. The crew and customers are some of the best around, always down to try something new and let us small time chefs experiment. Sad to see it go but we will continue doing our pop-ups elsewhere, using St. Cece's as the gold standard."

The closure marks a number of changes taking hold in Corktown, as the demand for hot real estate soars and longtime establishments struggle to keep up with the opening of newer, trendy eateries.

Also closed is Rubbed, which quietly closed its doors last month (we've reached out to the ownership but have yet to hear back on details about the sandwich shop's departure), and the reworking on Casey's by neighboring Bobcat Bonnie's into a dive featuring street tacos.

Entering the historic area, newcomers like Katoi (in March), the weeks-old The Farmer's Hand market across the street from the pub, and coming soon, Lady of the House, a restaurant by chef Kate Williams.